A round table is held today at the Belarusian Institute of Strategic Research (BISR) with the participation of colleagues from Uzbekistan – heads of the Institute for Strategic and Regional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan (ISRS). The event, which is significant for the expert communities of both countries, will be continued at the 1st Forum of the Regions of Belarus and Uzbekistan, where the BISR and ISRS intend to sign a memorandum of cooperation.
This memorandum logically precedes the upcoming visit of the President of Uzbekistan to Belarus, the BISR Director Oleg Makarov said while opening the round table.
"For us, this is the first experience of official interaction, and things really worked the first time. This experience shows how important direct contact with analytical centers of other states is for think tanks. This is precisely the gold reserve which creates the value of the think tank as such. Analysts in closed structures won’t be able to make such a serious product".
Deputy Director of the BISR Tatyana Shendik reminded that the Belarusian and Uzbek people have long-standing traditions of mutual assistance and cooperation. We will always remember how the Uzbeks sheltered us in evacuation during the Great Patriotic War. And the Belarusians took part in the reconstruction of Tashkent after the 1966 earthquake. We must not forget that about 10 thousand citizens of Uzbekistan took part in liquidating the consequences of the Chernobyl accident.
"All of it is no small feat. But in the 21st century, our sovereign states are facing new challenges and threats. More and more often, we think about how small countries, being in the orbit of global centers of power, should ensure economic development and preserve their national interests at the same time. For Belarus and Uzbekistan, the issues of economic development, ensuring progressive development of the political system, and maintaining order in the country are equally relevant. Unfortunately, mankind throughout its history has not yet developed universal answers to these questions. The only way is to compare different competent points of view from different parts of the world. I’m sure that openness, information, and intelligence are the key to the development of Belarus and Uzbekistan today".
Eldor Aripov, Director of the ISRS under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, noted the rapid development of relations with their Belarusian colleagues.
"We immediately reached an understanding. And today we have a unique opportunity to raise issues of interest to both Uzbekistan and Belarus and to discuss them extensively. I hope that by signing the memorandum of cooperation, we will launch our long-term relationship. Earlier, even the political dialogue between our countries was irregular. The Embassy of Uzbekistan opened in Minsk only in 2018. The situation has largely changed after the election of President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Miromonovich Mirziyoyev and after the historic visit of the President of Belarus to Tashkent last September. Now our task is to support this development and make it sustainable".
The memorandum of cooperation will be signed today by the directors of the BISR and ISRS at the Palace of the Republic. As a reminder, the Belarusian Institute of Strategic Research was established on February 12, 2019, to provide information and analytical support for the activities of government agencies of Belarus in the strategic directions of foreign and domestic policies. The Institute for Strategic and Regional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan was established as a state research organization in 1992. Its main mission is to provide information and analytical support to the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan.